“Ethan!” I ran full speed at him. He hurtled toward me, and we closed the distance between us in seconds. Ethan wrapped his arms around me and spun me around as we clashed together. He kissed me, my lips, my hair, all over. He took gasping breaths, as if he couldn’t get enough of me. I’d never seen him be so emotional, not even in the worst parts of our life.
“Oh, I love you,” I said, and I cupped the sides of his face as I kissed him again. “I love you, I love you.”
I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t speak anything but those words. My entire form wept at his touch, and I felt the power of our bond surge through us as shifter and sorceress. We were fated mates, not meant to be severed by death or life. He shook in my arms at the immensity of it all.
“I’ve lived through seven hells without you there,” Ethan rasped, and a tear ran down his face.
I wiped it away with the tips of my fingers and stroked his hair. “I’m here, darling. I’m here.”
As our bodies touched, I felt a kind of disconnect through our bond. My form was solid, but there was a certain ethereal magic to it that was different from Ethan’s. I felt his blood pulse underneath his skin, and his heart beat against his chest.
He hadn’t yet died. Something felt very wrong.
I was so caught up in the joy of Ethan’s presence that I hadn’t seen the other two men that had come with him. One of them was my brother. I gaped, hardly able to believe that Arthur was here. He was alive, too… my spirit felt it. What was going on?
At the sight of Vara, Arthur staggered, and sank to his knees. Vara knelt beside him, taking him into her arms as he sobbed into her bosom.
There, now. We’re together again, just as I told you we would be, Vara said, smiling as she straightened his crooked glasses.
Arthur’s lip wobbled as he said, “Vara,” and nothing more.
I hadn’t seen my brother look well in months. But in Vara’s embrace, he was.
I turned away from Arthur and Vara’s reunion to give them some privacy. Even though I stepped away, Ethan didn’t let me go. He kept his hands on me, binding me within my arms as if he was afraid that if I stepped out of them, I’d disappear.
I observed the man standing beside us. I’d never met him, but I knew exactly who he had to be. It was Ethan’s father, King Lycus. I was truly in awe.
“You’re as beautiful as your mother, with an even stronger heart,” Lycus said deeply. “It is a great pleasure to meet you, my dear.”
I blushed at the compliment. Hey, I could have a crush on him and no one would be the wiser. His dad was kind of a silver fox.
“Nice to meet you, too,” I said. “Ethan’s told me so much about you.”
I’d shake his hand— curtsey, or something— but Ethan was still crushing me to his chest.
“Yes,” Lycus agreed. “You two are certainly perfect for one another. I could not have chosen a better mate for my son.”
I blossomed at the praise. Milonna stood at a distance, observing the entire scene without interference.
“Why are you here?” I asked Ethan. “I can feel it… you’re not dead.”
Ethan let out a breath. “My father acted as our emissary into the Great Hunting Grounds. We’re here to make an exchange.”
“A what.” My tone was deadpan.
“Remember when I told you how Evanam Faolin performed a ceremony to resurrect his mate?” Arthur asked. He managed to get shakily to his feet, with Vara’s help, but did not let go of her hand.
“Yeah, but you tried that, and it didn’t work,” I protested.
“It workedthistime, because we performed the ceremony in the right way,” Arthur added.
“And I’m here to take your place,” Ethan added urgently. “I will give up my life for yours. You can return to a mortal life, and rule Malovia as her true queen. I will lay my life down and die so that you can live.”
My mouth fell into a thin line. “No.”
“No?” Ethan appeared aghast.
“No!” I said, more firmly this time. I pulled out of his arms. “You aren’t sacrificing yourself for me!”
